Duty is as heavy as a mountain
by Rand Al'Tor
Summary: The original redone in chapters and with better dialogue editing (original removed) Happens after Fujin and Rajin are defeated in Pandora. COntains torture.
1. A choice to make

Disclaimer: The actions in this fanfic arenot condoned by the author. And now I'm writing a disclaimer anyway. All these fellows are property of Squaresoft.  
  
Squall felt how his mind and body materialized again. He did a step back, his gunblade ready. As he felt Cactuar slowly receding towards the depths of his mind, taking a little more space than before he was summoned. Squall knew he had probably forgotten something now. But what? He didn't think about it to long however, but focused his eyes on his two opponents. The man with the tanned skin color, the purple clothes and the large amount of amulets was already down on the ground, softly moaning and complaining. Rajin. He than looked at the gray-heared, one-eyed woman before him. Fujin. She had a hard time . Though she had a strong spirit, and the illusions of magic and the GF's attacks didn't harm her as much as they could, but she had received many blows. Squall looked to his left. Rinoa. When Rajin had fallen Fujin had become really angry. She had hit Rinoa once, just once, but the black haired girl had gone down as if after a long session of pummeling. Squall still felt particles of rage burning within him. He had immediately done a Renzokuken. It was the longest he remembered doing. He had even been to angry to concentrate for the Blasting Zone technique, instead just following his rage in a Rough Divide. He was calm now. HE had to be calm for this mission, and Rinoa would soon be allright. The wound had send Rinoa to the ground, but he was well equipped with Phoenix Down potions. A bit of magic would heal the wound, though Rinoa would be hard to wake the next night. After healing people often would sleep trough explosions. After too much healing, some people had never waken up at all. Squall was inhaling. Fujin was still standing. Should he prepare to strike at her, or should he summon a GF? Than Zel jumped ahead. He punched the woman, twice. In the beginning Zell had been a little reluctant to hit her, but when he remembered that she had terrorized his home he had stopped holding his punches. Fujin took one hit against her chin, and one against her jaw. The punches could break trough stone, as Zell's strength was raised by years of training and magic. But so was this woman's endurance. Yet it had been a long battlle, and she was getting tired and worn down. She too one step back, tried to focus on Zell, weakly raised her weapon, and than fell trough her knees, and than flat on her belly.   
  
Zell cheered. "YEAH, we kicked their asses. Ain't that right Squall? Never stood a chance! That's what happens when you take on REAL SeeD's! Hah." Squall put his sword on his neck. Each time he had won it seemed to weigh heavier to him. At least he hadn't killed this time. He turned his eyes to Zell.   
  
"Go get Irvine, Quistis and Selphie. We'll need them here."   
  
"Huh, why? Why would we stay here. We gotta search Ellone." Squall looked at Zell. Zell sighed and left. Squall walked up to Rinoa. She looked so peacefull asleep. He wondered if he should let her sleep. He didn't want her to see what was gonna happen. But that would be keeping a secret from her. He had vowed to himself that he would stop keeping to much things secrets for her.   
  
He looked around. Noone was here. He moistened his lips with the vile tasting liquid. It was a drink used to wake people up. Good taste wasn't neccesary for this, and it even helped them to wake up faster. Squall softly kissed her on the lips. Her body reacted by licking her lips and swallowing. Squall put the small vial against her mouth. Rinoa swallowed the dink, her face contoured for a moment. "Yuck, sometimes I think they make it taste so foul just to make sure we don't go down to easily." Squall's mouth showed a very small shadow of a smile. For him that meant the joke was a riot. "hmm, strange I had a little dream, I never have dreams while I'm KO. It was really nice, you were a prince and I was..."   
  
"Sleeping beauty" Squall interupted, rubbing his lips to get rid of the taste, than changing heart and sucking the moisture from his hands. Rinoa looked at him and blushed.   
  
"YO Squall, we're back, what's what we're gonna have to do now?" Zell and the other fighters arrived. Quistis looked worried at Rinoa, who still looked in pretty bad shape, and at the two former garden-students. Selphie seemed a little irritated because she had to leave her pilot seat, but Irvine was cheering her up by telling her improbable stories. Squall face darkened. Everyone seemed so happy, except Quistis. She looked him in the eye. She feared what she thought would come. He hoped she would soon be appeased.   
  
"Rinoa, heal yourself. It's still dangerous here." His voice sounded cold suddeny, he noticed. He put his sword in the scabbard. It had drawn blood but not killed. Maybe that was a good thing. Maybe not. Fujin didn't look concious. Rajin was.   
  
Squall grabbed him by the front of his clothing. Rajin clearly was too weak to use magic but Squall didn't want to take chances. "Release the magic." Rajin didn't answer. "I know your awake Rajin, your complaints can be heard even in the middle of a GF summoning. Release the magic, or am I gonna have to draw it out of you.?"   
  
"Ca...calm Ya know. I...I'm releasing it." Rajin raised his hand. It was only a symbolic gesture to help concentration, magic leaked from Rajin's whole body. Light blue spheres flew to all sides, into space, magic nodes, monsters, or wherever magic goes. Squall threw Rajin on the ground. Without magic, there was little chance that he'd be any danger.   
  
"Cura" Squall said, and the wounds on Rajin's body started to close. Though he looked as healthy as before the battle, Squall knew that it would only take him 5 seconds to knock him out, or even kill him. "Now, where is Ellone?"   
  
" I ain't telling ya know. I'm not a stoolpigeon ya know."   
  
"You sounded different on Balamb Garden. Now I'm only going to ask this one more time. Where...is...ELLONE?"   
  
Rajin sneered. "Not gonna happen Squall ya know. ...I don't even know ya know." Squal heard the hesitation. Unlike his idol Seifer, Rajin had never mastered the art of lying trough your teeth. Squall dropped him.   
  
"Irvine, guard him." He said and walked to Fujin.  
  
Fujin was still unconcious. She wasn't the type to go horizontal unless absolutely impossible to stand. Unlike Rajin. He grabbed her by her hair. Behind him he could hear Rinoa gasp for breath. He took another vial, pinched her nose while holding her face back with the same hand and poured the liquid in her throat. When the vial was half empty, he stopped. Fujin slowly opened her eye.   
  
"WHAT?" she asked. Even dazed and confused she spoke in a loud voice.   
  
"Release your magic Fujin. I can't let you stay here while you'll soon be able to attack again." Fujin looked rebellious, but she knew he could draw the magic out of her, but that it would be much more painfull, not to mention the magic would be his. Just like Rajin, blue globes floated out of her.   
  
"Where is Ellone?" Fujin looked at him angrily.   
  
"NEGATIVE" Squall sighed.   
  
"Don't try to tell me you don't know where she is. Rajin doesn't know but he told me as much.   
  
"FOOL" she said.   
  
"Indeed, now where is Ellone?"   
  
"RAGE"   
  
"I'll take that as a no than" Squall answered. He brought his hand to his forehead. Why, why does life always makes us do things the hard way? He released her and she fell down. Still to weak to stand up.   
  
Pandora was a big construction, and, strong as they were, they needed the surprise element on their side, they should hurry. He walked past his comrades and took Zell by the arm. When they were out of hearing distance Squall started to speak. "They don't want to talk Zell."   
  
"Man, that sucks, but I have to tell you, I'm not surprised, they're so damn loyal to Seifer not even our first class trashing could convince them." Squall sighed. On Battleship Island he had realized he wasn't giving Zell enough credit. He was...loud, but he knew how to fight and obeyed orders pretty well, except the ones to shut up. Zell would probably don't like this show of faith however.   
  
"Than we'll have to try harder to convince them." Zell's eyes first indicated confusion, than understanding, than horror and than fear.   
  
"Squall...yo man...you...you don't mean..."   
  
Squall snapped at Zell "Yes I do mean torture!" He had said that last word too loud, and the others looked startled. Squall couldn't bring himself to watching Fujin's and Rajin's eyes.   
  
"Squall..." Quistis began.   
  
"I'm talking to Zell now Instructor, I'll get back to you in a minute."   
  
He turned to Zell. "Look Zelll, we can't search this whole bloody buiding, it's bigger than Deling city. We need information and they are probably the only ones who know where Ellone is."  
  
"But...Squall...torture is..." "Vile? Depraved? Immoral? Evil? I know, but so is giving up on our mission, and that is worse. We're here to do what has to be done. And this has to be done."   
  
"But...why me?" "Quistis is to emotional, Irvine can't handle the pressure, Selphie is to naive and even if Rinoa WOULD do it, I wouldn't let her. She's not a SeeD. It's not her duty. Taking the sprit of Ultimecia is enough for one mission. I NEED you to do this for me Zell. I'm counting on you."   
  
Zell bowed his head down. In a broken, barely audible voice he said " 'kay'  
  
They went back to the others. Squall calmly issued orders. "Irvine, Selphie, take Rajin with you and assist Zell in the Ragnarok, he'll brief you further, Quistis stay with me. Rinoa....I ...I don't know if you want to see this, and I know I don't want you to see this."   
  
Rinoa's face was as snow. "You're not gonna do this Squall, tell me you're joking...No it's bluff, I know, pretending that you'll .... 'accidentally' saying ...that word.... loud. Brilliant plan, and you acted so good, I almost believed you'd really...., you'd really..."   
  
"torture them, sorry Rinoa."   
  
"Squall they're Garden students."   
  
"ex-garden students. I warned them last time I'd treat them as enemies next time I met them. And now I do so." With these words he turned to Fujin. Her face was icy calm, but her eye seemed to burn. "BEGIN" she said. Squall sighed. Rinoa ran away.   
  
Selphie and Irvine were dragging Rajin with them. He was trying to break free but Irvine and Selphie had magic junctioned in their strength, and he was only hurting himself. "Ya know you're kidding right? Gottabe kidding. You can't force me to tell anything ya know. My mouth is sealed. I won't say a word ya know. And ...and I couldn't say it to ya if I wanted to ya know. I know nothin' ya know." There was no response. Than Selphie left Irvine carrying the struggling Rajin and ticked Zell on his shoulders.   
  
"Zell, are our orders really to...., I mean," Zell let his head drop in his typical fashion. He didn't know what to say, and for once didn't feel like saying something, so he just nodded.   
  
"But...but...but...we can't do that. We're the good guys, we don't do that. We can just look around till we find her, the building isn't that big..."   
  
Irvine took Rajin over his shoulder and joined them. "And don't forget. What if we accidentally kill him. I don't now if I can do that, deliberately driving a man to his limits, just one thing to much and he's cold meat." Zell kept walking. Selphie is too naive, and Irvine can't handle the pressure. That's what Squall said. I'm counting on you. Zell had always wanted to be the hero, but every problem seemed to go to Squall, and Squall got the thanks. How Zell wished to be like Squall. And now Squall had shown that he couldn't handle a problem, and needed his help. He could have asked Zell to attack a T-Rexaur armed with nothing but a hairpin and both hands tied behind his back, and Zell would be eager, but this was the task. Zell still had a broken voice,, but it was becoming more steady.   
  
"You just cure him and make sure he doesn't try anything funny....I'll do the...torturing..." Squall asked me, I won't try to escape an order from Squall. Not even this one he thought.   



	2. The beginning of pain

"Thunder" Squall said. A bolt appeared from nothing and went trough Fujin's body. Her body spasmed. If it wasn't for the restraining done by Quistis's whip, she would have flung herself at Squall.   
  
"NEVER" she shouted. Squall gritted his teeth.   
  
"Fire" A small fire burned trough her, but since it was magic fire, it didn't burn her clothes. Instead of the normal hasty battlespells Squall used the fire in such a way that they caused not as much damage, but hurt longer and more. The fire burned for a few seconds before dissapearing, and Fujin gasped for breath.   
  
"Water" Squall said. His voice sounded like he was under the zombie spell. Fujin was caught in the water, but instead of being dropped the water didn't even go up with her, but stayed around her, even as she tried to beat her way out of it. But the water followed her contours, and she could never reach the edge. Her movements were getting frantic as she started to drown in the magic water. Squall released the magic and at the same moment casted another spell.   
  
"Zombie" Just as the water around her vanished, Fujin felt her flesh grow cold. Her heart stopped, and so did her gasps for breath. She was sprawled on the floor. She howled with the strange eerie way of undead and people under the zombie spell. As she was drowning she had been looking out to her next breath or death, and now both were denied. She rose to attack Squall, rip his throat ot with her bare hands, but the Quistis' whip had been slinged across her neck again. She turned to Quistis and clawed at her. Squall kicked the woman's legs under her and casted once again.   
  
"Stop" Fujin had frozen. Her body still on her knees as she had fallen. Her face was one of utmost misery.   
  
"There, she'll feel like that for five minutes" Squall said "I hope this is enough" Quistis' face looked more tortured than Fujin's.   
  
"I....I used...to....teach them...in class and....Wh...why did you make me do this Squall?"   
  
"It's what has to be done"   
  
"It's against garden regulations.... against every law....what..."   
  
"To save the world and Rinoa, I'm prepared to lose my SeeD status and spend the rest of my life in prison. Without the world I'm dead, without Rinoa, worse."   
  
"Rinoa doesn't want you to do this. She ran into the spaceship." Squall didn't flinch. His voice still sounded calm and cool. Cold even.   
  
"She might lose her love, and I couldn't blame her, but I could never. We need Ellone to save her from Ultimecia for good, and making sure she stays alive is my task as a knight. It doesn't mean that I follow her every command." He checked his watch. Our 5 minutes will soon be up. Let's see if we can end this quick." As the magic ran out Fujin roared her scream to the sky. Squall took a bottle of holy water from his bag. "You want to breathe. I want to stop. Just spare yourself and me a lot of time and tell me where Ellone is. Fujin looked hungrily at the bottle, but gritted her teeth.   
  
"NO" Squall raised his shoulders.   
  
"The hard way than."   
  
Zell, Rajin and the two others arrived at the small room with the single door that led to the iron bridge in the Ragnarok. Zell sounded tired, and uncharacteristically devoid of energy.   
  
"Irvine, you stand by the door, keep your cure's ready, Selphie, you keep his hands behind his back." They obeyed his orders. Irvine looked terrified, Selphie looked like she could break out in tears. As she grabbed his arms, her face seemed to change however. It looked like that time she had eaten some of Zell's cooking. She had commented that she was going to wash the taste away with some Phoenix down. While she clearly didn't like this, she now looked more determent than before. Irvine saw it and tried to play cool again. His smile looked a bit shaky though, and he held his gun like he was trying to strangle it. Zell took off his gloves and grabbed Rajin's chin.   
  
"Rajin. You know what the question is... now...GIVE ME THE ANSWER." Rajin seemed intimidated, but than sneered.   
  
"Ya won't make me tell it ya...UNGH" Zell punched him in the face. "That's NOT what I want to hear YA KNOW?" he sneered.   
  
"Now You may think that we're just kidding but we're not. You're going to tell me or I'll have to hurt you a lot and THAN you're gonna tell me. Got that?"   
  
"Get lo..." A punch in the stomach.   
  
"GOT THAT?"   
  
"Get..." A punch under his chin. Rajin went on his toes, and only Selphie kept him from falling.   
  
"Now, what were you saying?" Rajin gasped for breath.  
  
"I..was saying...that you can go FU..." He was interupted by Zell's hand that slammed his face in his knee.   
  
"If you don't have anything interesting to say, you should shut up." Zell said, his voice dripping with contempt.   
  
"You....'re...the one te tell...me?"  
  
"Well, if you don't like what I say, than hit me Rajin." He made a gesture to Selphie. She released him. "Now what, Rajin, what's the matter? You're not chickening out are ya?" Rajin screamed and threw a punch at Zell, who easily catched his fist and threw Rajin in the opposite wall of the small room. He than grabbed his hair and pulled him back to Selphie, who held his arms again. "That was fun" Zell said (he thought he'd have to throw up if he'd have to keep this up long.) "Heal him Irvine. time for round two" The wounds on the big man's face closed. Zell grabbed him by the hair again.   
  
"Now that you see that I mean business, start talking. About Ellone of course."   
  
"Ellone? Ellone is the one that Seifer wants, she has brown hair and...OW" His newly healed nose broke with a sickening crack. Blood flowed down.   
  
"DON'T GO LITERAL ON ME." Zell yelled. "We know it makes me angry, but you DON'T want to make me angry now do you?" Rajin spit in Zell's face. A red drop beaded down his cheek. Zell rubbed it off, that cleaned his hand on Rajin's clothes. His smile looked a bit rabid. (actually Zell felt like finding a hole somewhere and never going out of it.) He took anther step towards Rajin, put one hand on his left shoulder and one on his right shoulder. "Selphie, hold him up." He said. Than he fastly raised his knee. Rajin didn't scream, it hurt to much.   



	3. Raise the pressure

Fujin hissed every time Squall's fist hit her belly. How she hissed without breathing wasn't exactly clear to Squall, but than again, you normally wouldn't live without breathing. He kicked against her ankle. She hung in the grasp of Quistis' whip. Than, as Squall wordlessly ordered Quistis to drop her, Fujin stomped the foot on the floor and looked defiantely at Squall.   
  
"NEVER" Squall shook his head,. He looked like a dissapointed parent. He brought his fist forward, straight into her right breast. Fujin crumpeled. She writhed in pain on the ground, tears flowing out of her eye.   
  
"IN...ISTRUCTOR...HELP.... TALK...MAKE STOP." Quistis turned her head away. She fidgeted with her whip. Only Squall could see the look on her face. And on Fujin's face. Fujin cried now bitterly. Squall kicked her in her kidneys.   
  
"Stop trying to be the hero Fujin. You're not. There are no heroes. Seifer doesn't expect this from you."   
  
"DIE" Fujin said in a pained voice. Squall grabbed her hair. She didn't resist, she was put on her knees, and Squall kicked her in the face. A crack was heard, and as Fujin moaned, she spat out three teeth and a pert of a fourth, and some blood. Her jaw was broken.   
  
"Heal that Quistis, she has to be able to talk." Quistis used the treatment ability, since healing spells couldn't be used on her.The wounds healed, but her teeth didn't grow back. Lost organs couldn't be regrown with healing spells. She slowly started to get up on her hands, but Squall brought down his heel in her back, and her arms spread. He than pulled her back by her hair until she was hanging by it. Her knees didn't have the power to carry her anymore, and she just hung at her hair. Squall ordered Quistis to hold her up. She was slowly losing consciousness. Squall took the vial of Phoenix down that was half-empty and brought it to her mouth. She held it closed. He unceremoniously opened her mouth by grabbing in the space were teeth used to be, and pulling her jaw down, than he pushed her tongue down. He crammed the vial in such a way that it flowed straight into her stomach. When his hand came back, there was some blood on it. He checked the vial, it was undamaged. He threw away the vial. With the other hand he closed her mouth. As he had expected she was trying to vomit. Her mouth filled with gastric juices and Phoenix down, but he forced her head back and the cocktail returned to her stomach. The effect worked and Fujin was slowly becoming clear enough to realize her situation again. She screamed in an uncharacteristically high voice.   
  
"...SADIST.... DISGUST." Squall grabbed her by her throat and pushed her against a wall, so fast Quistis hardly had the time to release her. Fujin tried in vane to remove the hand at her throat. He looked her in her eye and said, calmly and softly,   
  
"I'm a sadist Fujin? No, I'd be a sadist if I was laughing and enjoying this. You see me laughing? This is strictly SeeD affairs." He punched her in her stomach. "Seifer enjoyed it though. He had a great time torturing me. Are you disgusted by Seifer?" She yelled.   
  
"LIES"   
  
"I remember the list he spoke about when we were preparing for our exam. The one instructor Quistis had to be added. That list wasn't something like a list of people to torture was it?"   
  
"NO"   
  
"Maybe he didn't say that to you, but he spoke about me being high on the 'list' when I was hanging there in the Dessert prison. He sounded like he had given it some thoughts. Had thought about who would take how long to break. I wonder if he has given you a time lapse too? You never know when people suddenly change sides do you?" He threw her on the ground.   
  
"LIES" she said.   
  
...  
  
Squall had been hanging in the cuffs, unable to move anything below his neck. The memories seemed fractured, there was pain, questions and his own voice, talking. He didn't clearly understand the questions but he vaguely remembered not being able to answer them. He didn't know anything that Seifer was especially forbidden to know, so he didn't struggle and calmly let the pain wash over him, feeling distant, hearing his own voice screaming of anger, screaming for mercy, screaming that he didn't know anything, screaming lies and insults. But the voice and the pain seemed to be the pain of another man, like when you are hit while summoning a GF. Than Seifer had gloated for a while. Squall had snapped to attention when he heard Zell. Seifer was talking about his 'list'. Squall had found the freshness for a smart-ass response. It didn't feel good in him. Was this the only thing he could do? Seifer was talking about how he would torture all the others. Squall felt sorry for them, but they were SeeD's, they knew the risks. And they couldn't tell anything since they didn't KNOW anything. Than he remembered Rinoa. Seifer and she had been...friends. Squall felt a bit agitated that she had danced with him, but was only doing that because Seifer wasn't at the graduation festivities. But she was not a SeeD, she was in this because.... because she chose to. She had chosen. It wasn't his problem. On the other hand...she was the leader of the Forest Owls, and he had to assist them. His duty as a SeeD. Black on white. Crystal-clear. Seifer had been talking to him. He looked up. He was mocking him. Squall had failed his mission. He was a failure The pain of that realization touched him, and he became angry. Not the blind instinctive anger like before, like a caged animal, but human anger, shooting to hurt, and not to kill. A thought arose within him. His shoulders started shaking. Seifer sneered.   
  
"The widdwe boy is cwying because big, bad Seifew 's huwting him. Poow widdwe...what?" Squall had been slowly lifting his head, showing that Squall was laughing silently. He spoke with a voice dripping in contempt and sarcasm.   
  
"I'm a failure Seifer? Well, at least I'm in good company than. If you had been good enough to even BECOME a SeeD you wouldn't have to ask me all these questions now. Xu was right, you would never have been a SeeD, you just don't have what it takes!"   
  
"SHUT UP" Seifer screamed   
  
"And than you could have gone to Timber. Rinoa was so disappointed when we arrived, but you didn't, because you flunked. You really let her down. And when you practically destroyed her rebel faction by coming in with such a hair-brained plan, you destroyed her lifework, her way of proving herself. Yet she still cried for you when you 'died' Did you know the Sorceress almost killed her? I had to rescue her, AAANGH"   
  
"SHUT THE HELL UP SQUALL" Seifer said, while activating the currents Squall inhaled sharply and continued, despite the pain. "Rajin ...and Fujin never gave up on you, never would...ARGH AH...But they looked terrified, I've never seen Fujin so scared."   
  
"Rajin...Fujin....I've forgotten about them..." Seifer said to himself   
  
"To busy playing knight to care about your friends, Seifer? Maybe they've been killed by a Galbadian soldier by now, trying to fight their way into this prison to help you...AAAAH"   
  
"NOT ANOTHER WORD!"   
  
"Not that you protected the sorceress very well. Man, you were pathetic under the bridge. And than the sorceress came in and saved you. She made minced meat out of me in no time flat. Some 'knight' you are, lapdog...UNGH..AAAARGH."   
  
"Stop it, I don't want to hear it."   
  
"It's the truth Seifer. Man, you can't make me talk, you can't make me shut up, maybe you should add torturer to your list of failures." Seifer grabbed his gunblade.   
  
"THAT'S IT, YOU'RE DEAD." Seifer ran at him his gunblade swinging wildly. The assistant came between them.   
  
"Sir, you can't kill himhurgl..." Seifer looked at the sword that went trough the man's lungs, and than at Squall, who chuckled   
  
"Oops, Edea, your knight made a booboo again." Seifer stormed out. Squall waited until he was trough the door, and than lost consciousness.  
  
...  
  
Zell was getting desperate. He had trashed Rajin within an inch of his life. Twice Irvine had put a hand on his shoulder, wordlessly asking him to pause his onslaught, twice Zell had refused, and continued. They had gone downstairs. There they had casted blind on Rajin and Zell had punched him from different directions. They had casted lightning on him, it was the first time in many years Rajin actually felt lightning as painfull. It was a whole new experience for him, an unpleasant one. The screams showed it's effectiveness, but there was still no answer to that all-important question. "Where is Ellone?" He had asked him the question thousands times, but the answer was always negative. Sometimes he simply said "I won't tell you" or "I don't know", sometimes he'd insult Zell, Irvine and Selphie, or he would try to make them show mercy. Sometimes he'd laugh at them, sometimes he's scream furiously and more than once he started crying. The reaction of Zell was always the same. Fist, foot, knee or elbow. It was especially hard to hit him when he was crying. Zell could almost see his mother (she was his mother, no matter who gave birth to him!) looking disgusted at him. Selphie had had to go to the bathroom when Zell had made Rajin eat a whole Marlboro tentacle. Quistis had eaten one, and it's effects had reacted with her magical abilities, but she had been violently sick, and had thrown up the tentacle more than once, taking it from the floor and eating it again, since the magical ingredients had to be digested completely. Noone had eaten much that day. Even Squall had looked a bit pale. But for Rajin it was worse, every time he threw the tentacle up, he'd get beaten, asked where Ellone was and than got the tentacle jammed in is mouth again. The floor was rancid from his gastric juices. But Rajin had eaten the whole tentacle and not answered the question, Zell hoped Rajin wouldn't suffer to serious health problems later in his life. Zell would have enough self-loathing without that. He had taken one of the Chef's knives and carved insulting initials on Rajin's chest. He had cut out a whole part of his skin one time, and thrown some of the mysterious fluid in the wound, the same fluid Quistis had used to let her spit acid. She had almost bitten off her tongue when she felt the liquid go through her throat, and everyone wondered why the acid stuff didn't burn straight to her stomach, but Quistis' screams of pain that day had made them wonder whether it did that anyway. It took the three of them their combined might to stop Rajin from trashing about. Zell had asked the question the whole time he was sitting on Rajin. Rajin had answered with screams. Zell had told him to stop it and had poured some more drops on his exposed flesh. They had tied him up so he couldn't move a muscle and than he casted berzerk on him. He had frothed at the mouth, and tried to bite Zell as he came within an inch and slapped him in the face. Once in a while he'd cast esuna and ask the question. But the answer didn't come. Zell was looking at the big door in front of them. Would Squall be ready by now? Zell couldn't face the thought that he would have to confront Squall and admit he failed. Squall would probably say something like "Should have done it myself from the beginning" and extract the information out of Rajin in three seconds. He wouldn't be angry at Zell, he would probably forget it within a few hours, but that was no comfort. He would have disappointed Squall, and Squall was what he wanted to be. A hero. Why did his parents get him as a child and not Squall. Squall had hero written all over him. Just like his grandfather. If Zell disappointed Squall, it would be like disappointing his grandfather, the warhero. He couldn't disappoint Squall.   



	4. Breaking point

"Fujin, I warn you. Talk. I won't like doing this and even if you manage to make us give up, we'll find Ellone anyway. It'll only cost more time."   
  
"NO" Squall brought down his gunblade. Sparks flew from the metal floor. Fujin closed her eye.   
  
"That was to test. If you haven't started talking on the count of three... well, it'll hurt you more than me." Quistis looked shocked at him, Rinoa, who had joined them red-eyed, sobbed.   
  
"One..."   
  
Fujin gulped, her lips were dry and she licked them. Had she been breathing it would have been short gasps.   
  
"Two..." Fujin's mouth started to open but she shut it and closed her eye in painfull expectation.   
  
"Three..." Squall waited just a moment for her to tense, when she relaxed, shocked with surprise, he brought the sword down. Fujin's smallest finger left her body. Quistis let go of her hand. Rinoa yelled something. Fujin screamed and looked at her mutilated member. Blood streamed down from it.   
  
"You've got nine fingers left. Is Seifer worth them all?" Fujin cried.   
  
"YES" she sobbed. "MORE"   
  
"He doesn't deserve what you give him." Squall said, and squeezed in the wound, making her scream. "And he probably wouldn't want you to get all mangled up for some girl anyway. He'd say "Fujin, You don't have to worry about me, I could have handled Squall."" Fujin didn't answer. Squall shook his head. She and Rajin had recognized Seifer as their leader the first time they saw him. He always was the one that did things first, and since they went with him, they'd do things second. But Seifer always seemed to get away with it. The headmaster was shielding him from to severe punishment, because Seifer had shown much interest in the gunblade, and unlike Squall, had trumpeted around that he'd be a master with it. It seemed to be a choice that Squall and he had made together. Skill with a gunblade was where they challenged each other about. Seifer would often extend his special protection on Fujin and Rajin, and they would follow him, doing things no other Garden student did. He was their Cheshire cat in Wonderland. Their Gandalf in the Middle Earth. Their general, their king. So when he pledged fealty, they followed him. Squall remembered that day.   
  
They had been 14. Seifer had gone walking to Balamb, followed by his posse. Than he had decided that he'd stop walking on the roads, since it was to long. For him to walk to Balamb. For children under 16, it was strictly forbidden, since they could hardly defend themselves. Rajin probably had uttered doubts, and Fujin had probably gave him a good tongue lashing. She could make even a sailor blush back than. They hadn't even been so far away from Baamb, when they were beset by a monster. It was one of those mosquito beings. Seifer had laughed and said he could take that one on by hand. He couldn't have used the sword had he wanted since they weren't allowed to exit the Gym with it. He flew at the beast and started clobbering it to death. Fujin and Rajin had followed, angrily beating up the monster. Seifer was having the time of his life, he'd say later, untill disaster stuck. Rajin had said it had happened before he had realized it, Seifer had said it was destiny that had decided, Fujin never talked about it. The creature looked scared and, instead of trying to bite, he suddenly stung. Squall could imagine how Fujin had felt. The day before the exam, Seifer had almost cut out his eye. The steel that was coming rapidly and the thought 'left or right?' that absurdly seemed to form in his mind. Only for him, the following had been pain, relief ,anger and unconsciousness. For Fujin it had been merely pain and unconsciousness. He imagined how it had to be for her. Feeling the sharp sting pierce the eyelid, weakly trying to protect it's precious treasure, and than the treasure itself. Fujin had moaned, Rajin said, softly, than she had fallen. The bug had escaped. Seifer and Rajin had carried the unconscious girl to doctor Kadawoki, hurrying past teachers. Seifer had entered the infirmary, demanding that the doctor would heal Fujin now , or else! The docter had taken her, put her on the bed and had friendly assured Seifer and Rajin that everything would be allright. Seifer had gone to his room, that he shared with many other students, among them Squall. Squall had seen Seifer falling on the bed and crying, cursing and making promisses. He had calmly risen and started walking out of the room. Seifer had said, in a broken voice   
  
"Squal?" Squall had answered coolly   
  
"Yes, what?" Seifer had hesitated, a rare occurence. Squall had walked out of the room, leaving Seifer behind to deal with his problems. It had been the last time he had seen Seifer cry   
  
Fujin had drifted one week between life and death. Her frail 14 year old body had a hard time resisting the poison. The antidote should have been given sooner. She recovered however, but as a side effect, her hair had grayed. And despite many threats and promises made by Seifer to docter Kadawoki, her left eye was lost. After all the troubles were done, Seifer nearly got expelled. Squall had happened to be at the infirmary for a nasty scratch in training when Seifer told her. She had said "SORRY" dozens of times. Since Fujin had realized she would only see the world trough one eye anymore, she had only expressed her feelings with one, or two word sentences. Seifer had comforted her, saying that she shouldn't worry about it, and that they'd soon be prowling the halls again. As far as Squall knew, he had never given his apologies for the whole affaire, nor had she asked for it.   
  
Squall thought about this, and suddenly, he knew what to do. His voice was steel. "Instructor, hold her real tight, she must not be able to move her head." Quistis obeyed, expecting that he would hit Fujin in the face again. He than suddenly used his magic and said "Blind" The word alone seemed to scare Fujin, and her face grew pale. As her good eye lost focus, the last thing she saw was Squall's determined face. Than her world grew dark. She than heard the sound of his gunblade being drawn. She shuddered.   
  
"Listen Fujin, I'm getting tired, and I'm going to need my energy fighting Ultimecia and freeing Seifer, so I'm just going to give you three strikes. When the third strike is done, you will never have to worry about darkness spells anymore." Rinoa flew at Squall. She held his swordarm Her voice was so broken and full of sniffles that he could hardly understand her.   
  
"Squall...no....please, I'll do anything, but...don't do that...Can't you see how scared she is...?" Squall removed her hand and answered   
  
"I know, that's the point."   
  
"Squall Lionheart, if you do this I'll nevr speak to you again."   
  
"Life will not be worth living if I cannot hear your voice anymore Rinoa, but I'll happily destroy my lust of life so you can live" She turned to Fujin.   
  
"Fujin, please, please, tell him...don't make him do this, he'll hate himself forever." Fujin said nothing, but just sobbed silently.   
  
"Not going to say anything Fujin?" She didn't answer. "Well, your eye. Strike one." He made a cut somewhere above her eye. The blood flowed into her eye, and Fujin's eyelid blinked like hell. She whispered   
  
"Instructor....please" Quistis cheeks were a waterfall of tears, but somehow her voice sounded cool as crystal glas, and only those who could see her knew it would break as easy.   
  
"The only one who can stop this is you Fujin. Squall has made his decision, I could never change his mind. It's up to you." Fujin still didn't breath, her crying sounding like the cries of a damned soul. Squall asked her.   
  
"She's right Fujin. Help us out here, and give the answer." Fujin silently repeated "nononono" "  
  
"Okay, you're right, test the limits. Strike two" The sword made a gash just beneath her eye. Fujin yelped. Squall talked again, his voice as calm as when they started   
  
"Right, Fujin, now is your last chance. This is a marvelous world we live in, there is so much left to see. Don't throw it all away because of this stubbornness. There's a difference between loyalty and mad stubbornness." She was silent, even her sobs had stopped. Squall sighed. "Very well Fujin, it seems you made your choice, I hope you won't regret it in the future. Strike three." The sword was thrust forward, straight towards Fujin's eye. It wasn't fast. Quistis whimpered, Rinoa screamed, Squall might as well have been picking flowers....   
  
Fujin said "STOP"   
  
The sword stopped so close in front of her eye that she could feel he steel with her whimpers "You go up the stairs, go in the tunnel, take the first right..." Squall nodded, mentally remembering everything. "Than you take elevator number one. At the end of the hallway is a door. There Seifer keeps her...And I hope HE KILLS YOU FUCKING BASTARDS AND THAT WHORE. I HOPE HE RIPS YOUR FUCKING BLACK HEARTS OUT AND FEEDS IT TO THE PIGS THAT YOU ARE TOO." Squall returned the sword to his scabbard.   
  
"Esuna" he said, and Fujin inhaled for the first time in... Squall checked his watch... 34 minutes. She used it to cry hysterically. Quistis bended down to comfort her, to take away her pain, but Fujin pushed her away. Her strength was pathetic compared to Quistis in her current condition, but Quistis backed down as if she was hit by a sledgehammer. Squall turned away to walk at the spaceship. Quistis just stood by the pupil she helped torturing and now wasn't permitted to help. She cried bitterly.   
  
"Curse you Squall...Curse you for making me do this... You... coldhearted MONSTER." Squall inhaled   
  
"Whatever" he answered and kept walking. Rinoa was still too shocked to say anything.  
  
"TALK YOU BLOODY BASTARD TALK!" Zell was tiring. He had ran out of ideas, and was now back to kicking the crap out of Rajin and yelling, with the occasional use of magic. Rajin slowly took a breath and grinned.   
  
"Not...in this lifetime...ya know..." Zell threw him against the other wall with a snarl of frustration. He HAD to make him talk, he just HAD to. But he had done everything he could. He leaned on the wall, tired after half an hour of 'interrogation'. Maybe he just wasn't up to it. Who was he kidding, he couldn't intimidate a mouse. But Squall had picked him. Because there was nobody else. And now Zell would fail him. Rajin noticed Zell's weakness and grinned.   
  
"What's the matter CHICKENWUSS, are we getting tired?" Zell clenched his fist. "Don't even got what it takes to make me talk? I already thought so ya know. Seifer was right. You are a spineless chickenwuss, you've always have been and you'll always will be. Thinks of nothing but hotdogs Ya know. To busy stuffing his face to notice even the Anna from the library. Should be thankfully ya know. Cause she came to me for comfort. She was reaaal good ya know." Zell clenched his fists, and started shaking. "She said you were such a pile of dogshit. And than I said that everyone knows that ya know. Even Squall does. And your mother probably knew that from the day that you were born. Don't know HOW such a hero like your grandfather could bread a chickenwuss like you. Maybe he just made the whole thing up, or maybe they just found you by the side of the road." Suddenly, Zell stopped shaking. His face, that had looked enraged the whole time, suddenly became calm. Selphie, who knew what weak spot Rajin had hit without knowing it put her hand on Zell's shoulder.  
  
"Zell..." she began.   
  
"silence" the blond haired man said. Selphie opened her mouth to give a snappy response, but Irvine held her shoulder and pointed at Rajin. He was opening his mouth, but no sound came out. Zell had casted silence.   
  
Zell than turned around and calmly grabbed Rajin by his ears and tossed his to the wall on the right. Rajin was crawling up but Zell was there before him and landed with his food on his left arm. A crack was heard as Rajin's arm broke like a twig. Rajin's face contoured in pain, but no sound came out. Zell than grabbed Rajin's hair and tossed him on his back. His right food moved twice. Twice a crack could be heard. Rajin's legs were sprawled in an odd position and he would be screaming if not for the spell. Zell than took Rajin's upper right arm and his lower right arm and than moved clockwise with one hand and counterclockwise with the other. He than rose and calmly looked down on him.   
  
"That's so you won't accidentally hurt yourself" he spoke. He than took a deep breath and screamed. All calmness was gone as Zell seemed to be aflame with a red aura. His eyes were full of pain. All the pain he had felt in his life, all the times he had shaken frustrated but didn't dare to act now washed over him and seemed to wash away reason. Even the GF's in his head seemed to cry with him. Ifrit roared, Cerberus howled, Siren made a long melodious mourning sound and even Tonberry squeaked. He drew magic straight from his own spirit. He opened his mouth, he did not do the usual series of movements, he just pointed at Rajin and said "Painaga"   
  
Rajin's eyes bulged with wonder, even as they were bulging in pain. Selphie and Irvine exchanged surprised looks. The three red Japanese signs started to glow red just above Rajin's chest. Than 6 more signs, two series of the same three, joined them and formed a triangle, with the point downwards. Rajin's mouth opened silently, his jaw started shaking when 18 more signs were again in series of three, two series forming a triangle with one of the sides from the original triangle. This way a triangle made out of triangles made out of series of three signs was fromed. 27 red signs hovered milimeters about Rajin's chest, than they came down like a cattlemark. Rajin started to spasm. Though his members were broken, he succeeded in lifting them pretty high before the weight of the broken parts forced them down. Irvine would have been afraid that Rajin would go mad, or even die, if he didn't know that pain magic doesn't allow that. Evenso, the extreme reaction could cause massive damage to Rajin's heart, not to mention Irvine flinched even THINKING about how much pain a 'painaga' spell could cause. He had felt a pain spell ONCE, and it had taken two hours for him to stop shaking. He took an echo screen from his pocket and held it in front of the screaming man. Rajin's screams, that were not audible because of the magic, COULD be received by the echo screen, that than reconnected the afflicted throat with the normal phisical laws. Irvine backed away when he heard the scream. His ears couldn't hear a thing anymore. He put his hand in front of Rajin's mouth and yelled back at him.   
  
"COME ON MAN, JUST TELL US WHERE SHE IS! Zell's flipping out but we can't help you until you tell us where Ellone is." Rajin looked at Zell, who was givng angry stares at Irvine and than nodded. Irvine removed his hand. Rajin moaned trough his teeth, suddenly doubting. He than saw Zell taking a bag of silence powder from his bag. He began speaking in a terror-struck voice, laced with agony.   
  
"Stairs up, first right" He hastened as Zell was fumbling with the cord of the bag. "And than trough the door and there she is...Aargh, now please stop the pain..." Irvine started grabbing a remedy bottle but than heard Zell's voice. "Esuna" Everyone looked at Zell as he calmly stopped the pain he had caused. Free from the bonds, Rajin fainted.   
  
"Zell..." Selphie said "You...you were... not berserked? I thought you went completely crackers?"   
  
"I calmed down after the magic, all the rest was pretending." Irvine scratched the back of his head.   
  
"You're a natural than. I was almost afraid you'd have killed me back than"   
  
"Hmmm, yeah, that was mostly faked too" Zell answered sadly. Irvine tried to find irony in Zell's voice. He didn't.   
  
"But how do we know he spoke the truth?" Selphie wondered.   
  
"Because Fujin said the same thing" A voice sounded from a bit farther. Everyone startled as Squall calmly walked into the room.   
  
"Been here for long Squall?" Zell asked.   
  
"Long enough. Good job Zell, I knew I could count on you." He turned at Selphie. "Could you heal those limbs? Than take five, meet at the cockpit in ten minuts." Than Squall walked away. Irvine and Selphie looked at eachother.   
  
"Well.... I guess that's Squall." Selphie sighed. Irvine shrugged   
  
"Some things never change. I'm gonna take a shower I think."   
  
"OOOH good idea" Selphie said. Irvine gave her his usual smile.   
  
"Whow baby, and me thinking you were so shy. If I knew you'd be in for THAT, I'd have suggested it a long time ago." Selphie's face went red.   
  
"No...I mean each in our own shower, not... not..."   
  
"Sure baby, no need to rush things, plenty of time." He blew a kiss at her and walked away. Selphie rolled her eyes and walked after him. Though not to close by. Zell looked at them leaving, and than fell on his knees and started crying.  



	5. Consequences

Rinoa turned her head away. She had seen the whole thing from atop of the bridge above the room. She realized Zell didn't want anyone else to see him like this and sneaked away. She than walked on with tears in her eye. She didn't know where she was going. She didn't know what she was going to do. As she walked, she was past by Selphie and Irvine, who were drowning their doubts in an endless stream of yapping, and seemingly, with good results. Their faces began to show some of their old happiness. Selphie's enthusiast grin, and Irvine's mischievous smirk. They'd be alright. She than saw Squall. He walked up to her, his face carrying the same stoicism as ever, with the eyes just a tad warmer. And even that was really cold right now. "Rinoa, meeting in the cockpit in..." She slapped him in the face as hard as she could. Since she had still magic junctioned in her strength that was really hard. Squall bounced against the wall and fell on the ground.   
  
"Rinoa... ?" he said. Rinoa screamed.   
  
"SHUT UP, I don't want to hear your voice you MONSTER. How COULD you do this?" He turned his eyes away. His voice sounded weak.   
  
"My duty as a SeeD."   
  
"Is that ALL you can think about. YOU... YOU... Mercenary!" She ran off. Squall looked at her and slowly stood up. He began running after her, but than changed his mind. He turned around and slowly walked away. His cheek felt like a firaga was burning, and his heart like a blizzaga had gripped it.   
  
The lights went on in the small sleeping quarters. Squall walked in and locked the door. He slowly took his gunblade from the scabbard. It was still wet with blood. His mirror image in the sword seemed to have blood running over his face. He threw it against the opposite wall of the room.   
  
"DAMN YOU" he yelled at the weapon. "AND DAMN YOU SEIFER! And DAMN YOU RAJIN, AND FUJIN, FOR MAKING ME DO THIS." Squall burrowed his fist in the wall to the left of him. He almost went right trough the steel. "DAMN YOU ULTIMECIA, AND ADEL, AND DAMN DR. ODINE, AND LAGUNA, AND DAMN CID, AND EDEA. DAMN YOU ALL TO HELL." Squall fell on his knees. "No...I chose to do this. I must be damned. Rinoa is right. I AM a monster. I don't deserve her." Sqall sat on the bed. "Why do I always hurt the persons that love me?" He remembered himself, weeks ago, eternity ago. How he had calmly said. "Than go talk to a brick wall" He remembered how Quistis seemed to fall apart after that sentence. He remembered his own voice calmly saying "It depends" as Zell franticly held his vest. Searching for comfort, not for an analysis. He had seen the guilt and doubt continuing to eat away Zell's soul. He remembered himself angrily yelling "KEEP ME OUT OF THIS!" at Ellone, who had been like a sister to him. She had whispered that he was her only hope, and he had send her away, being consumed by despair, chased like a rabbit by angry hounds. He remembered how he had slashed at Edea, the woman that was as much as a mother he had ever had, with hardly a second thought. "You are just one of the monsters to us." he had said. Seifer had been right. HE was the monster. Seifer was under a spell. Squall was hurting out of free will. And now, he had hurt everyone. Fujin, Rajin, Selphie, Irvine, Zell.... and Rinoa.   
  
He curled up on the bed. He felt a bit safer like that. But why would he want to be safe. To walk the planet and hurt the ones he loved? Roaming around waiting to sink his teeth into someone like a Geezard or a T-Rexaur? Why should he continue anyway? The world would be much better off without him. The SeeD within him rebelled. No, he wouldn't step away from his duty. He might be a complete failure of a human being. A monster. But he WAS a SeeD. And a SeeD always completes the mission. A SeeD ges the job done. That what Cid had said. And when this job was done, well, than he might as well call it a day. When time compression occured, he'd just let himself float. The others would probably think it was an accident, so they wouldn't have any reason to accuse themselves. Rinoa would probably be glad. She should be. She might be sad for sometime, but that was better than stay with him. He'd hurt her anyway. He felt a liquid rising within his face. He jumped of the bed and grabbed his sword. "NO...no tears. The others are counting on me to be strong. I can't afford to cry now. He looked in the sword again. His eyes were dry. Only the sword wept red tears. He put it back in his scabbard, and left the room.   
  
In the room next to him, Rinoa was looking trough the small hole Squall's fist had made, and cried the tears he could not afford. "I must be such an easy life being a mercenary." she had said, back in Timber. What a feather-headed twit she had been back than. She wondered what she would have done when the president the SeeD's had captured had been the REAL president. She had expected Deling would have started talking after the first threat, but...if he hadn't, would she have... She felt nauseous. Serious negotiations, she had said. Who had she been kidding? A girl, playing a game. That was what she had been. She should have been thankful that it had been a double. She reflected on this. If it had been the real one... she'd probably have looked at the SeeD's, not wanting to give the command, and she would have wordlessly ordered them to 'negotiate' for her. That was their job right? She felt she had to vomit. She would have done that. She would have made them torture the president and than she would have despised them, since torturing was cruel. If Ultimecia wasn't stopped here and now, she would be captured, and Ultimecia would take over again. Rinoa shuddered at the thought. There was no memory of that period, only a slight feeling of vileness. She would be tracked down and captured, and the rest of her free life would be spend fleeing and hiding. Squall wanted to make stop it, as her knight, and she had slapped him. She ran out of the room.   
  
Squall was walking the hallway. The sword at his side felt heavier than ever. He grinned. It wouldn't get much heavier. Soon, the hurting would stop. Than he heard a voice behind him.   
  
"Squall" it sounded. Squall turned around. It was Rinoa, and she was coming right for him. Squall lift his arm, but changed his mind. A slap was the LEAST he deserved. He calmly waited for pain to engulf him again. Her arms caught him around his chest. "Squall" Rinoa sobbed "Please forgive me the horrible things I said. I love you." Squall wanted to answer the hug, but he knew he shouldn't.   
  
"Rinoa, I'm not worth to be your loved one, your knight. I'm a torturer, I'm...." She put her hand before his mouth.   
  
"Be quiet Squall. I don't believe I'd ever say this, but don't talk now." As they stood there, the casual observer would have the impression that the bigger man supported the frail girl. But those who could see instead of look saw the closed eyes of the man, as in silent prayer, and the hands that clutched the angel wings on Rinoa's back, like they were a branch that kept him from falling into an abyss. And the people who would really be immune to blindness would see that they were just that.   
  
Zell was sitting in the room. Selphie had healed Rajin after her shower and dragged him to a closed room. He was sitting silently, having shed ever tear his red eyes could muster. Selphie and Irvine had tried to cheer him up, but he had ignored them until they left. The big door opened, and Squall entered the room. He didn't greet Zell but just sat down next to him. Thirty seconds of silence passed. Than Squall asked   
  
"Zell, what is a hero?" Zell sighed.   
  
"Someone who is very brave."   
  
"So heroes are heroes from their birth, but you don't see it untill the actually do brave things?"   
  
"Yeah."   
  
"What are brave things?"   
  
"Huh? Euhm, fighting against lots of enemies"   
  
"Than all SeeD's are heroes, cause we can all hold off lots of soldiers."   
  
"No, I mean, a really strong force. One stronger than they are"  
  
"And those who do fight, and fail. Those are heroes? It's for a large thing a matter of luck if you fail or succeed. Not to mention people who do dangerous things without actually fighting to save the day"   
  
"Well... yeah, those who do dangerous things are heroes, whether they succeed or fail." "Oh, is a bunjee-jumper a hero?"   
  
"No, he wants to take the risk." "So a hero is someone who does something he doesn't want to do, like for example, risking his life, for the greater good."  
  
"Yeah"   
  
"Than you're a hero"   
  
"WHAT" Zell exclaimed "but I beat up a helpless man!" "Did you like it?"   
  
"ARE YOU KIDDING. I despised it, I'd rather de than do that again. I..." Zell pondered for a moment. "But...it's not something to be proud off. Not something like when my dad stopped 20 soldiers unarmed."   
  
"There's a difference between a hero and a legend Zell. Your grandfather did a brave thing, and had a lot of luck, since his strength was something he was born with. But I heard about him. He loved fighting. It was his whole life. I never considered him a hero. A legend, yes, but not a hero. YOU Zell, are a hero. But heroes rarely get famous." Zell was silent. Squall arose. "Come on Zell, let's go to the cockpit. The ten minutes are almost up." Zell rose.   
  
"Yeah right. By the way, are there any hotdogs on board." Squall's lips moved half an centimeter upwards.   
  
"We'll check"   
  
Rinoa and Irvine were already in the cokpit when Squall and Zell entered. Squal checked his watch. Than Selphie ran in breathless.   
  
"Rajin and Fujn escaped." Squall shrugged   
  
"Hmmm, bad luck, now to choose a team that will go after Ellone."   
  
"SQUALL" Selphie insisted "They couldn't have escaped unless someone opened the door for them, and only we have the key." Squall made a dismissive gesture.   
  
"It's a mystery than. now Selphie, Irvine, you come with me. Rinoa, you stay here and sleep a little. We'll need you in top shape when we confront Ultimecia. Zell you guard the ship." Zell started to protest but Squall silenced him with a gesture. "hand over the Junctions to eachother." Rinoa took Irvines hand and Zell angrily took Selphie's. A blue glow encompassed them as the GF's and the magic flowed from one mind to the other. "Let's go" Squall said and he left, followed by Selphie and Irvine.   
  
"Well, goodnight Zell" Rinoa yawned, and headed for the dorms. Zell grumbled and waked away. Why couldn't he join them. He wanted to be there too.   
  
Quistis was sitting on the chair of the meeting-room, waiting for Squall to enter and accuse her. She wouldn't deny the accusations. She didn't like to lie for one, and she didn't regretted it. She HAD to do something for her students. She heard footsteps. In a couple of seconds all would be over, Quistis thought. At least she had partly paid back the treason to her pupils, with treason to her comrades. Than she saw Zell walking by, stomping his foot angrily with each step like he always did when he was ticked off.   
  
"ZELL," she yelled. Zell entered.   
  
"Oh there you are instructor. We missed you at the briefing. Squall, Irvine and Selphie left." Quistis arched her eyebrows. Questions seemed to burn within her, but the fires went out as she took further notice of Zell's bad mood.   
  
"What's the matter Zell? You have a problem?"   
  
"Yeah, Squall didn't take me with him. But I WANT to kick some ass. I feel so useless here." Quistis sighed. Zell often had this problem when he was left on board.   
  
"Zell," she began. "There must always be someone left. It's regulations and it's smart too. Suppose they get hurt. They might need back-up and furthermore..." Half an hour later, Zell left the room, feeling confident once again. Quistis saw him leaving like a mother seeing her child go off to school. Poor Zell. She was glad she had helped him. Maybe she should call to Garden to see if things were alright there. She left the room and suddenly stopped. She realized something, laughed and shook her head. "Oh, Squall" she laughed "and me thinking you didn't change."   
  
400 meters further, a man fought, together with another man and a woman, for the fate of the world, for the fate of his loved one and ... now he realized, maybe for the first time, for his life.   
  
End.  
  
Despite what you may think, Rand Al'Thor does not condone torture. Don't flame me, please don't flame me. :) 


End file.
